Home for Hogmanay
by Punzie the Platypus
Summary: The lords and their clans go over to DunBroch's castle to celebrate the classic holiday of Hogmanay. With bannocks, homemade bows, snow and dresses, horseback riding, storytelling and songs to be sung by the piano forte, it's a big festivity, especially when the triplets are involved.
1. Hogmanay Morning

**Thank you, God, for everything.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Brave. Hello, my lovies! This is a holiday fic that will be my December project. Hogmanay is indeed a very real holiday in Scotland, and, though I believe it was created a few decades after Brave, for the sake of our entertainment and feels, I'm going to have it exist in the time of Merida. :)**

It was a quiet early morning in the castle of DunBroch. Of course, it was _very _early in the morning. Things would be picking right up after everyone got up. The servants were not looking forward to seeing the young princes dashing about, snatching up the goodies for the holiday.

Up in the princess's room, Merida was asleep in her bed. She looked rather calm, sighing softly to herself against the warm pillow. A quilt was over her, and her hair was flying about each and every way.

One of the animals from the stables let out a loud noise, causing the servants to drop things into the snow and hurry to it, and that was what woke up Merida. Letting out a slight groan at the fact that it was so early in the morn, she sat straight up. Her quilt fell off of her and she stretched her arms out, nearly hitting the posts of her bed, which were still marked with her creativity in using her sword to chop at the furniture.

She blinked, pushed hair out of her face, and suddenly her face lit up when she remembered what day it was.

"Hogmanay!" she shouted as she leapt out of bed, her quilt falling to the floor. She danced, her hands in fists in front of her, saying, "It's finally Hogmanay!"

She suddenly let out a gasp and stopped jumping, and started to say to herself as she crept over to her window, which was covered with hand-embroidered curtains for the long, bitter winter that Scotland had, "Please let there be sun, please let there be sun." On Hogmanay, a grand holiday on the last day of the year, sun in the morning was good luck. Merida only feared that it was going to be a grey day.

She stopped in front of her curtains, and taking in a deep breath, she reached out and yanked one of the curtains back. A spray of white light fell on the ground. Merida stepped forward, and holding the curtain away from her, she saw that there was indeed the sun shining down over the snow covered castle grounds.

"That's good luck, then," Merida said excitedly, and she hurried out of her bedroom, leaving her bedroom door cracked open, her entire room in disarray in less than two minutes.

She ran through the castle, through its dark and dank corridors(despite the torches), barefoot, and to the boys' room. Their bedroom door was usually open, allowing the excited shouts of the three boys to go throughout the entire castle, though now it was closed, for it was early.

Merida quickly turned the knob, and was about to hurry in when she saw Maudie at the boys' fireplace, working up a fire in it for the morning. The maid instantly saw her and quickly, looking desperate, put a finger to her lips, looking hurriedly over to the boys' bed.

Merida nodded, and her gaze looked over to where the boys were. They were all laid sprawled about on their bed, the blanket all twisted about them. One was in a corner, another was hugging a large cookie and the other was snoring, a bit of drool hanging from his mouth.

Merida whispered, "Sorry," and backed out of the room. With extreme carefulness, she managed to close the door without making a loud, disturbing noise. She walked a few steps before she dashed over to her parents' bedchambers.

She hurried inside, coming across her parents in their big bed, covered with rich blankets and bear furs.

"Mum! Mum! Mum!" Merida said excitedly, dashing to her side of the bed. Elinor had her head against her pillow, a slight frown on her face as she groaned and turned away from Merida. "I's too early, Merida," she muttered sleepily.

"But MUM, it's Hogmanay!" Merida said, tugging on the blankets teasingly. "It's the biggest holiday of the year, and look!" She pointed to their covered window, which was covered with curtains. She pulled them back and turned to Elinor, saying in a more serious voice, "Mum, the SUN IS SHINING."

All she got was the sounds of her parents' snores.

Sighing dramatically, Merida walked back to her mother, saying, "Mum!"

"Wut?"

"The lords are comin' today."

"Wut?" Elinor said. She sat up, wearing a dark gold nightgown. Her hair was out, her having too much to put into braids or pinned up in a cap, and she looked to Merida and said, suddenly remembering, "Oh, goodness, it IS Hogmanay, isn't it?"

"Yes, and you invited three certain lords with their sons over for the occasion to make up for the Games this summer," Merida said in a slow voice, her arms folded, a smile on her satisfied face.

"Well, there's that," Elinor said, turning so that her legs hung over the bed (Fergus let out a very loud snore from his side of the bed, shifting as the blankets were moved by the queen). She reached down and began to put on her slippers. She looked up to Merida and said, "Remember what else I be gettin' to do today?"

Merida shrugged. "Dunno, Mum."

"Well, if I remember the tradition correctly," Elinor said, her voice sounding excited as she stood up, "the lady of the house gets to make all the important bannocks for the day."

"Last day of the year. I remember last year I was stuck stitchin' away in my room while you had the boys hangin' 'round in the kitchen w'th ya," Merida said, raising an eyebrow with a hint of a smiles at one of the corners of her mouth.

Elinor smiled as she walked over to Merida, and draping an arm around her shoulders, said, "And that's why I'm proposin' somethin' new this year, Merida."

"What? You?" Merida said, looking up at her mother with a bit of surprise. Her mum had loosened up quite considerably after having been turned into a bear, but she still liked traditional things, especially with such a festive and fun holiday. "Thought I was the one who broke the rules 'round here."

"Make that the entire family," Elinor said with a laugh. "I was thinkin' that YOU could help me in the kitchen today."

Merida gasped, looking at her mother, astonished. It was tradition that she had always watched her mother from the sidelines in the kitchen on Hogmanay (when she managed to get some time away from her confounded queen preparation), and now she got to join her?

"Really, Mum?" Merida asked, making Elinor laugh and nod. Merida squealed and pulling her mum to the door, said, "Ach, let's hurry, let's go do it now!"

"Merida," Elinor said in a you-forgot-something voice.

Merida stopped, her hand on the doorknob, and turning, said, "Yes?"

"I think we should probably eat breakfast with your father and brothers first," Elinor said. She glanced at the two of them and laughed, "And we might want to wear something besides our sleepin' gowns."

Merida looked down at her nightgown and shrugged, "Yeah, probably guess so."

So, within the hour, the castle was bustling with life, reading the day for the holiday. Maudie, trembling, had nervously woken up the boys, and managed to get them dressed before they ran down to the breakfast table stark naked.

Fergus had come down, his large black dogs leaping and bounding beside him. He shoved them away good-naturedly and sat down at the table, making the entire table rumble and the porridge pot nearly fell off of the table, making Merida stretch over the wide table to catch it.

"Mornin', Fergus," Elinor said from the foot of the table, her hair out and brushed neatly, wearing a dark purple dress and a cup of calm, steaming tea next to her bowl of porridge and cream.

"Ach, mornin', Elinor, and happy Hogmanay!" Fergus said as he looked around the table. Merida was shoving her porridge into her mouth faster than even the triplets, making all three of them look across the table at her, astonished, before they looked down and fairly started gulping down their porridge.

Fergus shrugged after a moment before turning to his own breakfast, which was a gigantic wooden bowl of porridge, each little nook and cranny in the mash filled with cream. "Looks like today's a bit of a busy day, aye?"

"Yes it is," Elinor said with a smile. She put down the few papers she had in her hands and began to blow on her tea, saying only, "Merida?"

"Wut?" Merida asked, her mouth full of porridge, some dripping down her chin.

"Just don't go and choke," Elinor said before she gave her tea another delicate blow, making Merida grin and begin eating again. Elinor took a sip of her tea and turning back to Fergus, who looked like he was the one the children had gotten their eating habits from, and said, "The lords and their sons should be here in just a few minutes."

"How are they comin'?" Merida asked. Finished with her porridge, she wiped at her mouth with her sleeve, but suddenly straightened and used a napkin, looking wary. She was wondering because the lake had not totally frosted over, despite the bitter cold weather they had been having.

"They'll be takin' their ships, hopefully not tryin' to outdo each other again," Elinor said. "After they arrive, Merida and I shall go into the kitchen and make bannocks." (At this the triplets looked at each other in excitement. Bannocks were oats and grease molded into cakes and fried. It was good holiday food, and the boys had sparks of mischief in their eyes.) "Tonight will be our big feast here in the Great Hall and the lords' sons are going down through the hills to the houses of the villagers."

"Oh, oh, oh, Mum, can I go with them? Please, please, please?" Merida asked excitedly, almost looking on the verge of jumping up and down.

"Well, Merida, I'm afraid-"

"It'll be too cold for ya, darlin'," Fergus said. He leaned back in his chair and said mischievously, "Besides, you'll probably beat 'em and get here first."

Merida sighed. Whoever got back before midnight was cheered on and brought good luck. Small problem. If a redhead came through the door first, there'd be bad luck. "Ya, fine," she said.

At that moment, great shouts rang through the castle, and the boys stopped eating for once and looked around, wide-eyed. Elinor stood up excitedly, clapping her hands together, saying, "That'll be the lords!"

Merida ran to join her as Elinor picked up her skirts with one hand and said earnestly, "C'mon, Fergus, we've got to go meet them!"

Fergus watched them leave, astonished, and gesturing at his large bowl of porridge, said loudly, "I ain't even finished yet!"

Merida and Elinor didn't seem to hear him as they bounded through the halls, passing by the servants, all carrying lambs and meat ready for roasting, others cleaning the castle for their guests. They all gasped and moved away as Merida squeed and dragged a laughing Elinor to the throne room where the queen dusted herself off and then turned and call, hands cupped near her face, "Fergus! Boys! Hurry!"

In through the side door the boys came skipping through, their hands filled with breakfast pastries, Fergus right behind them, saying, "Why'd they 'ave to come so early?"

Merida giggled to herself as she sat on her throne. While she didn't have to wear a fancy dress like last time, she did sit up a bit straighter and dust her dress off, though she once again wiped at her mouth with her arm and found a bit of porridge.

Servants who were already in the throne room hurried and milled over to the sides of the room as a guard hurried in front of the doors and called for attention. The royal family (Fergus still grumbling), sat down in their seats, the dogs leaping about joyfully around them, and Elinor barely noticed them and Fergus didn't care enough to call them to settle down.

The guard shouted, "The lords of the clans!" and the doors opened, revealing the three other clans. The three lords stood in front, hands on their hips. Lord Macintosh stood in the middle, blue swirls mostly hidden by bear skins that covered him from the falling snow. Lord MacGuffin was roly-poly and looked like a bear himself; what parts of him not covered in fur were covered in hair. On Macintosh's right was Lord Dingwall, who was sporting a hat with a white ball in the center, who looked miffed as he looked around.

Merida looked around, craning her neck to see if she could locate the lords' sons in all the hubbub as the lords took to flooding the room. Elinor nodded toward Fergus, and the two of them stood up.

Fergus clapped his hands, removing his annoyed face, and yelled cheerfully, "All right, wel-welcome, lords of the clans! We-we, we, um, of course-"

"Welcome back to our castle," Elinor said.

"Yeah, welcome back!" Fergus said quickly, grinning as he looked at Elinor.

"Happy Hogmanay, and let us hope we have a good time celebrating the old year's end," Elinor said. This rose several fist pumps and cheers from each of the three clans. Lord Macintosh said, "And let's hope my boy is the one who comes back first!"

"Hey, who says your boy's going to be the one who comes back first?" Lord MacGuffin said, looking incredulous despite his fur-covered body, turning to look at Macintosh. His son, somehow shielded by his large body, could be seen looking a little concerned at another dispute between the lords.

"It's obvious, isn't it? Dark-haired lads bring more good luck than other haired kinds," Macintosh said quickly, and his son stepped out and moved his head about, his hair falling everywhere. "It's only logical."

"Yeah, because logic TOTALLY makes sense," Lord Dingwall said, scoffing.

"This is going to go that way again, isn't it?" Elinor said out of the corner to her husband as the lords started to argue once more, pounding their palms with their fists, their sons watching warily from behind them.

"Expect it to," Merida said, shaking her head, a slight frown on her face. And she thought that they had really made a breakthrough that summer. She sighed, stood up, and waving her hands about, she yelled, "Hey!"

All the lords' and clans' heads turned to Merida, who had her hands on her hips. "Why are we even goin' to do this if you all are goin' to do is argue? I mean, I want a GREAT holiday, and I don't think ANY of us can have a good one if you three argue the entire time."

She turned to the three lords' sons and said, "Do you care which one of you comes in first?"

The three of them looked at each other and shrugged, Young Macintosh looking uneasy.

"See? Why make a big deal out of somethin' that doesn't need a big deal to be made out of it?" Merida asked. She smiled and said, "I say we all have a great holiday, and that means breakin' out the wine!" She turned, grinning, to her father and said, "'Ow about that, Dad?"

Fergus, despite knowing that a lot of wine wasn't very good with this crew, didn't care when he remembered he had barely finished his breakfast. "Aye! Aye!" she said, nodding. "Get settled in your rooms and I'll break out the wine before we take a tour of the grounds!"

This made the lords back away from each other and cheer. In the madness, Merida crept over to Elinor and said, "Can we go make the bannocks now?"

Elinor looked around as Fergus followed them to the cellar where the wine barrels were kept. Good. All the men were distracted. She nodded and said, "Hurry, before they find us!"

Merida grinned and together, the two of them hurried through the door into the halls toward the kitchen. Both of them failed to notice the triplets communicating with secret smiles and hurrying after them, their main objective of the morning to secure a few fresh, hot bannocks.

**I hope you liked it, and thank you my lovely readers! :)**


	2. Riding Through the Glen

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Brave.  
**

Merida was digging her hands through a barrel of oats, biting her lip, feeling the grimy meal run through her fingers as she bailed several hand cupfuls into a large wooden bowl, where Elinor was adding glop after glop of grease.

They had their own counter in the busy kitchen, where things were running quite amok. Cooks and servant girls were hurrying everywhere, making sure that they had enough for the crowd, gasping when they realized they didn't, stuffing haggises that the three boys wrinkled their noses and scampered away from, and stirring pots over the fire in the great, big fireplace. The barrel of oats was at the end of the counter and Merida didn't even care as she dove in with her clean hands and brought out oats.

"Now, that _should _be enough," Elinor said, looking into the bowl and nodding with satisfaction.

Merida nodded and grunting, put the lid of the barrel back on. Dusting off her hands, she peeked over her mum's shoulder as Elinor, biting her lip, used the giant wooden spoon to mix all of the oats and grease together. It became sort of like a crumble, and after a few minutes, Elinor took a deep breath, wiped at her brow, and said, "We probably should invest in some aprons. This grease is going to be jumping everywhere."

"I'll get 'em," Merida said, darting to the other end of the kitchen as Maudie, looking around warily for the triplets, placed a large pan on the fire. Elinor daintily smacked a spoon against the pan, placing a glop of grease the size of Fergus's fist into the pan.

The queen was just spooning the cakes in the grease when Merida came running up, breathing fast.

"Rather out of breath when all you've done is run 'bout the kitchen, Merida," Elinor said as she slipped her apron on.

Merida nodded quickly, panting as she put hers on and tied it in the back. "Those wee devils of brothers o' mine stole 'em, thought it'd be fun or somethin'."

"I'll 'ave to speak to 'em 'bout that," Elinor said, looking around with a scrutinizing look, finding the boys sitting on a high table, shoving Maudie's cherry-topped pastries into their mouths cheerily, enjoying the fact that there was guests, making Maudie not try to steal their precious goodies.

For the next hour, the kitchen was in a fair bit of a flurry. Bannocks were taken out of the oil by Elinor, and she laughed when she saw Merida sneakily try to take one. The princess smirked and snacked on the deliciously hot cakes as Elinor fried more and more, needing plenty for the feast that night. Merida, standing close to the growing platters, watched like a hawk for the three boys. Every time she'd catch sight of one, she'd pretend not to see them and watch as he scampered back to his brothers, a hot bannock flying between his small hands. The four siblings had a sort of system like that. The boys helped her, they got slipped food without Mum noticing. Worked brilliantly.

And in the end, Elinor deemed that'd there be enough for the night, ("Though, I could swear we made more." Merida shrugged at that), and the two of them covered the platters with cloths just as the sound of loud cheering carried through into the kitchen.

"They're bein' loud," Merida said as they straightened and took off their aprons.

"It's the holiday spirit gettin' to 'em," Elinor said. She clapped her hands and said in an authoritative voice, looking about the stone kitchen, "Now, boys, time to come out and join us."

The boys came out from under one of the large tables that was covered in jars full of delicious food. They scampered up the stairs, making Elinor shake her head.

* * *

A few hours later, in the halls after working on the new tapestry a bit before they settled down for the feast that night, Elinor turned to Merida and say, "Merida, I 'ave somethin' to ask ya."

Merida instantly looked worried, and she said tentatively, "Wut did I do now?"

"It's not that horrible, I swear. I want you to take the lords' sons on a ride through the glen," Elinor said, calmly picking up her skirts and making her way down the stairs that were right by the throne room, where Fergus was entertaining the men.

"Ach, now? Ridin' through the glen?" Merida asked, hurrying after her mum. That was her thing, and now Mum was asking her to go and share her adventures, her places, her land, her kingdom to the boys? She didn't even know if they could control one of their fierce horses.

"Yes. It won't kill you and between the two of us, keeping more people away from the arguing lords the better off we'll be," Elinor said. They arrived outside at the bottom of the staircase in the throne room, where great singing and shouting of traditional Hogmanay songs could be heard. The queen put her hands on her hips and said, "Now, don't give me that face."

"Fine. I'll do it," Merida said, and Elinor gave her an appreciative smile and together the two of them went through the room.

Elinor went to the thrones where Fergus was shouting happily for her to join him. Merida, arms folded, walked through the crowds, ignoring all the shouts and falling over people, and found the boys at one of the long communal tables that had been set out.

"My mum says that I should take the three of ya out on a ride through the glen," Merida said, looking about the table. Macintosh stopped spinning his knives in his hands, MacGuffin looked up from where he was fiddling with his fingers, and Dingwall turned from where he was watching the shouting, looking completely bored. "Soooo, unless any of ya have any objections, let's go to the stables and take a ride."

"Well, I guess. If we're back in time," Macintosh said, and as he stood up, he tossed his head. Merida barely noticed. MacGuffin stood up as well, shaking the entire table, and up came Dingwall, and with Merida sighing, "a'ight," the four of them headed through the castle to the stables.

Snow was all about the castle grounds. People passed by them as the four, all dressed in warm furs they had picked up (Merida in a green cloak that was lined with white rabbit fur, a bow on her shoulder and a quiver), squelched their ways to the stables.

Merida, at seeing Angus chewing away at some hay, cold air breathing out of his snout, dashed over to him with a grin. She patted his snout, saying, "Guess what day it is, Angus? It's Hogmanay, my most favorite day of the year."

She smiled, closed her eyes, and leaned against the horse. She remained like this for a moment before she opened her eyes, noticing that the three lords' sons were still there, watching her with a mix of bored and fascinated eyes.

"Arethereanymorehorsestoberid den?" MacGuffin asked, pointing to his side.

"What's that?" Merida asked, leaning off of Angus with a confused look.

"I think he wants to know where the other horses are," Macintosh said.

"Oh, they're just right o'er there," Merida said, pointing to her right where the stablehands were walking the horses slowly around to get their blood moving in the freezing cold. "Just get one and get it hooked up."

She quickly turned and grunting, put the saddle and bit and reins on Angus. Patting him on the back to keep him calm, she turned to see the lords' sons mounting. MacGuffin was carefully lifting his stout legs over his horse. Macintosh simply cracked his knuckles and managed to get on top of his white horse very quickly before the horse bucked him off into a pile of snow.

Dingwall's legs were too short, and he was repeatedly trying to make them go into the stirrups.

Mounting her horse, Merida gently clicked her tongue and rode at a gentle trot over to Dingwall.

"Ah, need any help?" she asked uncertainly. Her voice caused him to start, and his foot somehow made it into the stirrup. He shook his head and managed to mount the large animal while the other two sons came up to the two of them.

"Ready?" Merida asked, her breath coming out like dragon's breath. The three nodded, and with that, she leaned down to Angus and said, "Let's get goin'," and with that, the two of them shot down the castle grounds, through the little roads near the houses within the castle walls, making the servants turn their heads, Merida shrieking excitedly as she looked back and noticed that the three boys were keeping up with her. Her smile disappeared. Apparently being lords' sons meant that they went riding a lot.

Well. She would give them a run for their money. She turned back to look forward and said, "Faster, Angus!"

The horse let out a snort and they went through the walls' entrance and down the path, past the harbor where the three ships, all marked with their clans' flags, sat, and through into the stark white and dark gray forest.

The leaves of the trees of the forest had disappeared, leaving a dark, cool forest in its rest. It was quiet, with the birds and squirrels gone, and the sound of snow crunching beneath the giant horse's feet filled Merida's ears as she bent low, looking behind her to see that the sons were coming up fast. Macintosh was zooming along fast, his horse bounding back and forth between the path and the trees. MacGuffin was looking tentatively to his left and his right, but kept at a steady pace behind Merida. Dingwall simply looked bored as he moved forward, nearly side by side with Merida, making her sit up straighter.

This only made Merida narrow her eyes and zoom forward faster, passing the boys even more as she kept her hands on Angus's reins, guiding him through the bunches of trees. She knew these woods like the back of her hand. The boys had been here, what, twice?

She turned Angus off of the path, past the trees, and on to where what bits of grass visible through the layer of snow became even more sparse. The ground of dirt was turning to rock, for she was riding on a cliff.

The sun gently shone down on the racing quartet. Merida leaned down near Angus's ear and said, "I think we'll stop 'ere," and as if the horse knew what she was saying, he snorted and slowed to a trot. Merida pulled on his reins and he came to a full stop, allowing her to leap down from her saddle and get her foot caught in the stirrup.

"Ach!" she said as she shook her foot and attempted to use her red hands to shake it out. She barely noticed the boys arriving and dismounting around her.

"CanIhelpyaareyahurtin'yaneedanyhelp?" MacGuffin asked as the three came up to her.

"What?" Merida asked, stopping with her shaking and looking at him with a confused expression.

Dingwall duly went to the stirrup and pushed her foot out of it. Merida hopped on her other foot in the snow as she wiggled her unstuck one, saying, "Thank ya."

"Now, what are we doin'?" asked Macintosh.

"Welllll," Merida said, straightening. She smiled and looking between the three boys, decided to tell them. After all, if she, the princess and thus a representative of DunBroch, was going to take the sons of the lords of the other clans on a ride through her kingdom, she wanted to really _show _them something. "Look ahead of ya," she said, and she pointed forward.

The lads' heads turned to all see magnificent shocks of water pouring down the side of a cliff. The water, giant amounts, flooded down, creating a roar that filled the air and made them wonder why they didn't notice it before.

"We take to callin' it the Fire Falls." Merida trotted in front of them, waving her hands in front to keep her pent up excitement contained. "Ya see, when the sun hits the falls JUST right, it makes it look like it's on fire!" Merida stretched her arms out wide, an excited look on her face.

The boys looked like the falls were lackluster. Machintosh looked unamused, Dingwall had his mouth half agape and Macguffin was fiddling with his fingers.

Merida turned to look back at the falls and said, "Ya just have to wait a moment or so until it comes, which, it will! Solemnly promise!"

"You sure?" Macintosh asked.

Merida turned to him with a firm face. "Extremely."

She held a breath and slightly whispered to herself as the sun slowly started to set, "This SHOULD work," and within a few seconds, the gentle light of the fading sun start to touch the roaring, foaming water, making it gleam as it flew down the side of the mountain. A few more seconds and the entire falls was shining orange, screaming and falling orange water that cast a wonderfully warm glow over the cold and white snow.

Merida let out a laugh and turned to the boys, who all looked significantly impressed. Regaining her composure, Merida, hands on her hips, said calmly, "Well, told ya it would work."

"It looks _wonderful_," Dingwall said, his voice somewhat awed as he stepped forward.

"Well, looks all right, I guess," Macintosh said, his voice sounding reluctant.

"Ithinkit'sabsolutelybrilliant!" Macguffin said excitedly.

The three other heirs turned to him and Macintosh said, "I have NO idea what he's talking about."

"You're preachin' to the choir," Merida said, looking very confused.

Macguffin waved his hands and then finally set them down. He smiled.

"Well, while that was nice and all," Dingwall said, "we probably should be gettin' back to the castle for the feast."

"Aye," Macguffin said, raising his hand and nodding in agreement.

Merida looked between the three of them and said, "A'ight . . . but I bet I can beat ya back!" and she raced back to Angus, who was patiently waiting for her. With that, the three lads immediately hurried to their horses, determined to ride back to the castle first before this rambunctious princess.

**These four are actually kind of nice to write about. MY FEELINGS. Thank you for reading! Merry Christmas!**


	3. The Feast and Dress

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Brave. Thank you for reading, my lovies!**

When they got back to the castle, the first thing (or person, she should say) Merida saw by Angus's stable was Maudie. The maid was shivering head to toe, and breathed a grateful sigh of relief when Merida and the lads showed up.

Merida, bringing Angus to a stop by the snow spotted stall, easily dismounted as the boys rushed past her to the other stalls. Walking around Angus, patting him on the back, she turned to Maudie and said, "Are ya lookin' for the boys?"

"No, actually. I was sent by your mu-mu-mum," Maudie said, trembling. "Ya 'ave to put on your 'oliday clothes."

Merida sighed, rolling her eyes as she nodded. "Fine. All right, Maudie, tell 'er I'm comin'."

Maudie nodded her head gratefully and bounded down the castle grounds, eager to get back to the nice, warm but bustling kitchen.

The princess sighed and took care of Angus quickly, taking a few seconds to blow on her red hands every now and then. Even though she and her mother had gotten along quite incredibly since the Great Bear Caper (she and her father had come to call it that when they laughed and shouted out the story by the fire during the cold evenings to the amazed triplets), the queen still wanted her to resemble a princess and a soon-to-be queen, and so she had lessons (fewer, having proven that she already had some of the capabilities needed to become queen) still, and she had to put on a dress for the feast. It was not too bad, all in all, but Merida simply did not have the patience for putting on dresses like that.

She hurried into the castle as the dark night fell, twinkling stars marring the black sky. She managed to open and close one of the heavy doors when the snow started to fall down once more. Breathing heavily a moment behind the door, Merida then hurried forward, past the servants, who were all scurrying, and down through the halls, nearly running into Elinor.

"Merida!" Elinor said, almost jumping into the air. The queen was wearing a dark blue dress now, with gold embellishments and dark brown slippers. Her crown was snug on her head and her gray streak mingled a bit with her long dark hair. She fanned herself slightly, saying, "Wut's your rush, lass?"

"Ya wanted me to go get on a dress?" Merida said, almost uncertainly.

"Oh, right. Just go on up, dear," Elinor said, and her hands turned to her skirts to pick them up. Merida watched her walk a few steps before saying, "Well, aren't ya comin' with?"

Elinor calmly turned and said, with a bit of a laugh in her voice, "I'm sure ya'll be able to put your dress on without any assistance." She left to go order about servants and organize the feast in the Great Hall, leaving Merida with her arms out in confusion.

After a moment, the princess turned, saying, "Okay," and bounded up the stairs and down many corridors to her bedroom.

Throwing open her bedroom door and shrugging off her cloak, Merida looked about the bedroom for her gown. The room was lit with a burning fire in the fireplace and torches that were set up all around the walls. The light they gave off fell on the made bed, where the gown was laying.

Merida let her cloak fall onto the floor as she approached her bed.

"This isn't my usual dress," Merida said, looking confused as she looked at it. The dress looked different. It didn't look like the dress she wore to the Games nor the one design she always wore for the holiday. It was a light green, reminding Merida of the color of grass, and upon touching it gently with her fingers, she noticed it was warm but flexible, tough but smooth. It had gold lacing all around the sleeves and color. It didn't have a containment for her hair.

Beside it was long stockings that would cover her legs and graceful looking slippers. Merida picked up the dress and looked around her room, sure that there would be some servant to help her put on the thing. And then it struck her.

_There was no strings attached._

Literally, the dress had no corset, and she didn't need someone's help. She quickly slipped off the dress she was wearing and put on the new one, stockings and shoes and all. It felt so _free_, and yet her mother had approved of it for the feast.

The princess felt herself let out a laugh. No corset, no hiding of her hair, no disapproving shakes of a head or _anything_.

"This is my kind of a dress," Merida said to herself. Feeling very pleased, she looked about the room, searching for something. There was _one thing _that she had been working hard on. That fall, when she and Angus went out riding just by themselves when Elinor was too busy, she'd carry a few things with her. She'd carve a few things, twinge a few things, tighten a few things, fit a few things, and all those little things built up into her three masterpieces.

She found them in the corner, beneath a basket filled with sewing stuff. She had somehow been able to cover them with a canvas and not get them noticed. She pulled them out, and laid them on the floor. Three bows. Three quivers. Eighteen arrows that took her three days to make in total just for the arrowheads.

Should she give them to the lords' sons now or after the feast? Now would be weird, seeing as they were about to go eat. It wasn't tradition to give gifts before eating, but what if she wasn't able to catch them before they headed off on their late journey through the glen?

It was a bit confusing, and annoying, to choose, but Merida finally sighed and tucked them back in their hiding place before scampering out of her room and running down the hall to the stone staircase.

Upon entering the Great Hall, she noticed that it was . . . very loud. And that was an understatement. The triplets were running around, their mouths full of pastries, their fingers stuffed into their ears. They jumped up onto the tables and one of their hands slipped at a time to the platters before the treat in their hand got stuffed into their mouths, allowing them to cover their ears once more. It was mostly yelling, shouting, cheering, laughing, and singing. Merida couldn't help but grin when she saw her father at the front, swinging his sword, singing to the tune of his old Mor'du song.

_"Tis time for that gloomy season that the winds did blow_

_Into our highlands, lo'lands, mountains and below_

_Where the old year has gone to rest and now to be replaced_

_We'll ring in the new year with a toast and stomp the place!"_

The room shook with excitement as multiple mugs of ale rose into the air, toasting the one next to it. Foam fell and covered the platters of haggis, bannocks, neeps, huge pots steaming with cock-a-leekie soup, kippers, crowdie cheese to be eaten with the bannocks, kurly kail (delicious greens), Scotch pie (a meat pie) Dundee cake and soor plums, an acidic confectionery that left the triplets' eyes bulging.

The tables were all covered with a flurry of wooden plates, large goblets full of wine and beer and ladles. Spoons in hands, men slurped and laughed and guzzled. Near the king, a band of bagpipes were playing a merry tune that they played often to go with King Fergus's joyous singing.

Merida giggled and moved in down the hall. She spotted her mum next to the lords at the head of the longest table. The head of the table was left open for the bounding king, who was now clapping his hands in time to the music. All the lords were in a row on a bench, looking at everyone and everything but each other. MacGuffin slurped from his bowl of cock-a-leekie soup like he was drinking from a cup. Macintosh was spreading cheese on his bannocks and Dingwall was poking his haggis suspiciously.

Opposite them were their sons, all red and chapped in the face, the young MacGuffin and Macintosh eating cheerfully while Wee Dingwall looked around and popped soor plums into his mouth.

Merida looked around for a spot to take and Elinor looked up, looking regal still but positively relieved at having her show up.

"Oh, Merida," Elinor said, and her breath caught and she smiled broadly. "Your dress."

"Oh, yeah," Merida said, looking down at her dress.

The rest of the people at the end of their table looked up, Elinor saying, "I 'ope I didn't make the waist too tight."

"No, no, it's perfect," Merida said. She smiled. "Thanks for it."

"Well, I'm pleased ya like it," Elinor said, smoothing her napkin over her lap. Merida could just tell that she was glowing inside, though. She knew that her mum felt a bit guilty about the whole thing with becoming queen and getting betrothed, but Merida had apologized and forgiven her ages ago.

"Remember, lad," Macintosh said across the table to his son, "this could be the face you wake up and live with every morning."

MacGuffin coughed wildly into his soup and Elinor raised an eyebrow while shaking her head, a tug of a smile at her lips.

Merida coughed awkwardly and said, starting to scooch her way onto the bench between Young MacGuffin and Wee Dingwall. "Can ya move over?" They did, and Merida quickly grabbed an empty set of tableware from the other side of Young Macintosh, and settling back in her seat, said, "Thank ya," and started to scoop neeps onto her plate with gusto.

The lads all looked at her with agape mouths, and Merida, taking a long slurp from her soup spoon, said with her mouth full, "Wut?"

"You'll have to live with her table manners too," Elinor said with a laugh, shaking her head. Merida merely shrugged and ignoring everyone, fell back to her food. Maudie came over and filled her goblet with ale and as she sped away to fill the goblet of the particularly masculine man from the Dingwall clan, Fergus came up to the table. He was breathing heavily, his entire body shaking with energy and laughter, and he came around Elinor, saying, "'I-o, dear," and he kissed her cheek, making her laugh as he pulled away, a laugh on his lips as well.

"Fergus," she laughed, nearly swatting him away. "Not at the table."

"Why not? Can't a king do wut 'e wants in 'is own castle?" Fergus asked. Elinor sighed with a laugh, and Fergus looked up from his wife toward the lads.

"Aren't ya all goin' to 'ead out? It's gettin' chilly, and I bet ya might want to 'it all of the 'ouses 'round 'ere," Fergus said. He took a step to his right and took his seat at the table, making it shake.

"Yeah, yeah," Young Macintosh said quickly, setting aside his empty plate. He stood up, tossed his hair and said, "Let's go."

Young MacGuffin hastily straightened, and Dingwall turned and slipped off of the bench.

The other lords and Elinor stood up (the queen looked to her husband and grasped his arm firmly and started to drag him up, making him groan and point to his dinner), making Merida sigh and look up, soup dripping from her spoon. They were going out into the blistering winds, down through the stormy glens, to the villagers' cottages, getting greetings, bannocks, and the requirements for being first back after midnight. It sounded ravishing, but as she was a girl and a redhead, tradition had to go and apply to her again. . .

Merida sighed and leaned on her hand, her elbow on top of the table. Bad manners, but Elinor merely shook her head and decided to ignore it.

"'Ere's a map, laddies, so ya don't lose your way in the snow," Fergus said, clapping a map into Young MacGuffin's hands.

"'Ey, how come 'e gets the map?" Dingwall asked indignantly.

"'Cause your son barely 'as a sense of direction, that's why," MacGuffin said, nodding to Wee Dingwall, who was watching a bannock being tossed to another man in the clans, his eyes focused on that. "Even with a map, he'd led them into a snowdrift and leave them for dead."

"MY son isn't stupid enough to walk into a snowdrift, though I can't say the same for you," Macintosh said, leaning toward Dingwall.

Dingwall waved a fist. "Just wait, you lot, until Wee Dingwall comes in first and beats everyone!"

"Like that'll 'appen," MacGuffin said.

"Yeah, SURE," Macintosh said, shaking his head. He whispered to himself for all to hear, "That'll never 'appen."

Merida sighed and standing up, said, looking from lad to lad to lad, "Innit time for you all to 'ead out?"

"Right, right," Fergus said, rubbing his hands together. "'Ave a good time."

"Don't get killed by a bear or anythin'," Merida said, making everyone laugh. There was now a very small chance of someone getting killed by a bear around here.

"We'll try not to," Macintosh said. Turning to the other lads, he cocked his head and said, "Let's go," and as they marched out of the Hall, everyone stopped eating and clapped and cheered as they disappeared.

Elinor smiled and said loudly, "Godspeed, lads!" She nodded and finished clapping and turning back to Fergus, said, "Shall we head to the parlor with the lords?"

"Elinor, I've barely started eatin'!" Fergus said, gesturing with both of his beefy hands toward the table.

"'Urry up, then," Elinor said, and she smiled as she turned to Merida and said, "ready for the stories?"

"I 'ave a feelin' Dad's goin' to be retellin' the Great Bear Caper one again and again," Merida said with a laugh. It was probably true. When Fergus told a story more and more, the more they could remember it and tell it to others. Merida liked that, because _that_ was how stories became legends.

**The foods listened are all Scottish fare, though I don't necessarily know for sure if they're all eaten at Hogmanay. Thank you for reading! :) God bless you!**


	4. Bannocks and a Wee Harp

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Brave. ONLY 13 MORE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS. WE CAN OFFICIALLY START FREAKING OUT NOW.**

The clans dispersed about the castle, wandering around with their mugs full of dripping mead and ale, making their ways to their tents along the castle grounds. Elinor and Fergus (after stuffing his face very quickly, making him get stuff in his beard and Elinor fuss and wipe it away with her sleeve) led Merida, who was tearing into a quarter of a large black bun, the lords, who all had their hands on their hips or folded over their chests, and the triplets to the family parlor. The princess considered herself quite sneaky to have managed to slip her black bun away from the boys as she shoved the rest of her desserts in their direction, their agreement still, unfortunately, holding strong.

She ducked out-of-the-way as Fergus opened the large wooden door to the parlor and bowing deeply, said to Elinor, "Ladies first."

"Thank you, kind sir," Elinor said, going along with him as she gracefully entered the room.

Fergus chuckled and entered in, his wooden leg thumping, the lords following him. The triplets ripped past Merida, nearly sending her against the wall. Their hands were filled with pastries and bowls of cream, and their eyes bulged in excitement. Merida shook her head with a smirk and took another huge bite of black bun before she wiped at her mouth with her sleeve and entered the room.

It was a fairly large parlor. Merida walked across the stone floor, past the rug lying on the floor. She fell back, her hair bouncing, on the couch, which was covered in furs and pillows that she had had to work on when she was younger. There were only a couple of those, thank goodness, so there wasn't too many painful memories. Along with those, there was elegantly stitched pillows, of purple and gold and green, with golden thread. They were now being sat upon by the guests and royals.

From a large woodpile by the large fireplace, Fergus found a thick log and lobbed it into the crackling fire, causing the flames to roar and shout and send sparks scattering about the stone floor. The triplets approached the fire with thin sticks, and stuffing their mouths with puff candy, stuck pastries on their sticks. These were then offered to the fire, and grew warm and gooey.

Fergus fell into his chair and Elinor, straightening on her own chair, said, "Fergus, would you like to carry us with a story?"

"Oh no," MacGuffin said, groaning.

"'Ere we go again," Dingwall said, putting a hand to his head and sighing.

"We really goin' to just listen to the same stories o'er and o'er again?" Macintosh said incredulously.

"Ya betcha," Merida said, grinning. She leaped up and said, "C'mon, Dad."

"Oh, all right," Fergus said, and he stood up. Cracking his knuckles, he said, "Fetch my sword, lass. It's by the door."

Merida nodded and dashed to the door as Fergus, rubbing his hands together, turned to face the lords. The triplets pulled pastries off of their sticks and sent more into the fiery fray, doing this without taking their eyes off of their father.

"All right, 'ere we go! Now, it all started one day in the summer. We were eatin' dinner, and THAT was when Maudie-"

"Ken we hear ANY story besides this one?" Macintosh grumbled, looking annoyed.

Fergus stopped waving his hands around and looked at Macintosh with a strange look. Merida grabbed his sword and came bounding up to him with it just as he started to say, "And wut's exactly wrong with this story?"

"We lived it, Fergus. No need to 'ear it again," Dingwall said crossly.

"Well then YOUUUUU tell a story or somethin'," Fergus said as Merida offered his sword. He turned to her. "Oh, thank ya, darlin'." He took the handle and Merida bounded back to the couch. Fergus turned back to the lords, sword in his hand, making him look even more intimidating, and said, "Well?"

* * *

The next few hours were rather some of the best that Merida had experienced of Hogmanay. Turned out, the lords actually did have wonderful stories of their own. They acted them out, argued about them, and all together the three of them and Fergus put together the battle that brought the kingdom back together, back when they made Fergus king.

Merida watched in amazement from her couch. Maudie came popping in now and then to bring more mead or ale, and several delicious desserts that Merida and the triplets ate faster than a horse can run. Elinor drank tea and watched the amused lords and her husband, all too busy to notice the disappearing pastries.

After a while, the clock on the mantel chimed, and Elinor turned to the triplets, who were all yawning as their hands slipped down from the freshest plate of bannocks.

"Is it time already for bed?" Elinor asked them. They instantly shook their heads and straightened, wide-eyed. Merida laughed and sat up straighter. It was barely eight o'clock, but the heavy food was weighing on the boys.

"What time do you think it is, then?" Elinor asked them.

The three looked at each other and then started to scramble as Merida shouted excitedly, "Presents! It's time for presents!"

"Yes, that it is," Elinor said, leaning back in her chair. She turned to Maudie, who was knocking and slowly opening the door. "Maudie, send along the presents. They're in the tapestry room." Maudie nodded and hurried back out. Elinor turned to Merida, and putting a hand next to her cheek, she whispered, trying to be offhand, "I thought it'd be a safer place to keep 'em than the Great 'All."

Merida nodded, leaning back. The partying that was in the Great Hall would have found the gifts tore up. She glanced over her shoulder quickly when she heard the door open, and several servants came walking in, packages in canvas and brown paper and cloth in their hands.

The triplets instantly stood up, clapping their hands, and the lords and Fergus all stopped with their skit, all in awkward positions with their swords, and turned to watch as the presents mounted near the fireplace.

"Time to stop now, boys," Elinor said, standing up. Straightening her skirt and smoothing it down, she walked over to the presents. The triplets hurried after her, tripping over their feet as they fell onto the presents, hugging the stack. Merida giggled as Elinor thanked the servants, who curtsied and bowed and made their way to the door, before she turned to the lords and said, "Shall we hand out presents now?"

The lords and Fergus immediately straightened, cordially agreeing with the queen, talking rapidly over each other in attempt to be heard. Elinor raised an eyebrow and started to hand out the gifts, reading the names on them.

It was a very good year for gifts. Merida, to her delight, received a new quiver and a new saddle, broad and sleek and straight from the village. She laughed and looked excitedly to her father at that, who winked at her. He knew her love for Angus, and a new saddle would do brilliantly.

The triplets received stick horses, and they pranced about the room, chasing each other over their stumbling legs. They yelled excitedly and passed the fire, nearly sending themselves into it. Elinor looked a bit scared at that.

Elinor got Fergus a new sword. The two of them sat on the couch and leaned against each other. When there was finally wrappings all over the floor and the wee triplets were fighting with wooden swords, Elinor straightened up, making Fergus lean down against her shoulder even more.

"Sit up, dear," Elinor said. She clapped her hands together to command attention (and Fergus straightened reluctantly) and said, "And now, I am going to play the piano forte and Merida is going to play the harp."

"I'm wut, now?" Merida asked, straightening from rubbing her saddle with the elbow of her dress. She whipped her head to look at her mum, who stood up.

"You're goin' to play your harp."

Merida frowned and begrudgingly said, "Fine." No point in arguing on such on a nice evening, even if this was a damper. She'd probably only play two or so songs, right?

Hopefully. The king stepped up and holding Elinor's hand, led the graceful queen to the piano forte, where she settled down on the bench. Merida slowly walked over to the corner where her wee harp was; she reluctantly picked it up. She hadn't played it in a while, and had hidden it there a week ago. She sat down on a footstool and the sounds of the magnificent piano forte filled the air. Merida plucked at her harp strings, looking extremely bored while doing so. Nobody could even hear her playing over the sound of the piano. Not like Merida cared.

The triplets clambered up on top of the piano while the lords and Fergus all gathered around the fine instrument, and Elinor led the singing in her gentle voice the old songs of the Scottish lands. They were beautiful in her voice, and Fergus turned to Merida as the lords added their own voices and said, "C'mon, Merida, join us!"

"A'ight, a'ight." Merida nodded, cleared her throat, and began to sing along with the song. It was a traditional song she actually did like, and she managed to sing along despite the fact that her mind was preoccupied with keeping time with her wee harp.

They were just finishing the song (Elinor finished playing with a flourish) when there was a loud knock on the door.

"Yes?" Elinor said, and everyone turned to the door. Maudie came in and said, pointing behind her, "Villagers are at the door, ma'am."

"Ah! 'Bout time," Elinor said, standing up off of the bench, "our castle is nearly always the last one, seeing as its so far away from the village."

Merida bounded up and said, "Ken I fetch the bannocks, Mum? Please?" Merida loved greeting the villagers, and any moment not waiting for her mum to come back, holding a wee harp in her hand, the better.

"All right, but 'urry, Merida," Elinor said, and that was all that Merida needed. She probably didn't even need the ''urry' to make her race out the door (nearly knocking over Maudie, who let out a loud gasp and planted herself against the wall), shoot down the castle and bound to the kitchen, which was in a magnificent flurry. Clean up was in order, and Merida was easily about to bend and weave around the servants to get to the giant platters of bannocks. She quickly grabbed one, and bending down so that her head was nearly level with the floor, whispered, "Hedgie, Hedgie, Hedwick, c'mon out!"

Her eyes searched, and she found the little hedgehog in his little bed by the corner, near the jars and barrels. She hurried over to him and tickling him under his chin, tore a bit of the bannock off and put it down next to his little chin. "There ya are."

The little hedgehog instantly started to eat the bannock. Probably hadn't gone out to eat the bugs yet. That was why there was a wee hedgehog in the corner of the kitchen. After the Great Bear Caper and the clans left, they had left several large colonies of bugs that infested the kitchen. Hedwick was brought to eat them, and so he patiently sat and waited until he could roam around quietly and eat the bugs.

Now Merida straightened, wished Hedwick a good Hogmanay, told him to not disturb the brownie when he came for his food that evening, and grabbing the large platter of bannocks, hurried to the front of the castle where her mum was.

Through the throne room, she came up to the doors where the queen was.

"Sorry 'bout takin' so long," Merida said quickly, breathlessly.

"You're fine, Merida," Elinor said. She straightened and said, "Don't forget, we must be nice to the villagers."

"A bunch of teenage boys. I should be all right," Merida said, shrugging.

Elinor raised an eyebrow and laughed before she called for the guards to open the doors. They opened them, allowing huge billows of snow to fill the Great Hall. Elinor and Merida quickly stepped out-of-the-way as the floor quickly became covered.

"Well, THAT'S attractive," Merida said cheerfully as she lightly stepped over the snow to the kilt-, fur-wearing teen and young boys, all shivering and crusted with snow. Merida smiled and handed the platter over to one of them, saying, "Knowin' my mother, she'll just want ya all to 'ave just one."

The boys nodded, and didn't seem to notice or care that it was the red-cheeked princess handing out the bannocks. Elinor came around the door and shivering, said, "Any of ya need the mandatory items?"

The boys shook their heads, and thanking the royals, bowed, and Elinor dismissed them. The doors were closed, and Elinor straightening, turned to the guards and said, "Will one of ya get the snow out of 'ere?" Turning to Merida, she said, "Goodness knows we don't need all this snow 'round 'ere."

"Aye," Merida said, and Elinor, straightening, said, "Let's get back to the parlor."

Merida nodded and the two started walking, and Elinor peeked over into the platter that Merida was carrying. "I could swear that we made more."

"Wellllllll," Merida said, stopping. She cocked her head and said, "Maybe the boys and I 'ad a few."

"A few, goodness," Elinor said, shaking her head with a laugh. "Ya got another thing from your father. Your appetite."

"Can't say it's a bad thing, though," Merida said as they resumed their walking to the parlor. "'Ey, Mum?"

"Yes, Merida?"

"Do I 'ave to play more wee 'arp?"

Elinor shook her head as they came upon the door. "Nay, you're done. Though, do sing along. For your father. And for me."

Merida gave her mother a warm smile, and the both of them remembered how they used to do things together like singing, and they enjoyed those times. And . . . it would be nice to just sing and be with each other again. That was another thing that Merida liked about Hogmanay. Her mother wasn't acting like the queen. She was acting like her mum, and now even more so than usual. It was brilliant, and Merida was very happy about it.

Elinor smiled back and draped an arm around her young daughter's arms, and together, they headed back into the warm parlor.

**I just really like Brave, *sniff* Thank you for reading, and happy holidays! God bless you! :)**


	5. WHO'S FIRST

**Thank you, God, for everything.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Brave. I also don't own Auld Lang Syne. CHRISTMAS IS IN LESS THAN A WEEK ASDFGHJKL;. :)**

The rest of the evening passed swimmingly. The lords and Fergus eventually finished with their loud holiday songs and were astonished and somehow ravenous when they noticed that Merida was snacking off of a large platter of bannocks. Elinor continued with her piano forte playing, laughing at jokes Fergus said above the sound of clanging dishes.

Merida continued at a sloth-like pace at eating her bannocks. The boys were playing with their toys behind the seats, or so Merida thought.

At eleven-forty, the teen yawned loudly, stretching her limbs, and flopped down on the couch. She sighed, and called over to the boys, the adults ignoring her with their own cheerful chatter, "'Ey, want to finish my bannock?"

She was not met with the eager but tired hands of the boys, so she was immediately given a clue that something was wrong. "Boys?"

No response.

She groggily sat up and peeked her nose, eyes and hair over the couch to see that the toys were abandoned and that the triplets were gone. There was neither hide nor hair of them left on the carpet.

"Boys? Ach. Oi," Merida said. Grunting, she got off of the couch, and leaving her elders joking, Lord Macintosh nearly falling over with laughter, she hurried out of the room. In the hall, she looked about. Maudie, well, Maudie must know where the wee boys were. She was their nursemaid. Even if they were the high and old age of four, they were just a little too rambunctious for Elinor's taste. Maudie was here somewhere, and she was probably with the boys, and if Merida heard a scream from the nurse, she'd find the boys.

Merida, taking in a breath, started walking about the castle. She hurried, knowing that in just a few minutes all the clans would gather at the front doors to see who would be the first to step into the castle after midnight. Secretly, she couldn't care very much who won. She'd just cheer and not give a hoot who made it in first. She only could hope for no meltdowns.

She peeked over the railing of the layered castle, looking into the Great Hall, calling in a hissing voice, "Boys, boys!" Her hands slipped off of the stone railing, and hands in fists, she turned on her heels and started around, saying under her breath in an annoyed but slightly worried voice, "Where could those wee devils be? Don't they know it's almost midnight?!"

She swept by the kitchens. She waved to Hedwick and marched through, but was met with a fruitless search.

"Annie, 'ave you seen Maudie or the princes?" Merida asked, talking to a kitchen servant lugging a large pot to the sink.

"Ach, nay, Princess," the girl said before she gasped and trying to get a better grip on the pot, said hurriedly, "'cuse me!" and rushed to the sink with a _clank_!

Merida winced at the noise, and looking around the kitchen, said, "Well. Then this was stupid."

"Merida? Merida! Merida!" she heard, and she turned to the door at the head of the stairs, where Elinor was. The queen's and princess's eyes met, and Elinor, rushing down the stairs, hurried to Merida and grabbed one of her hands.

"Merida! C'mon! It's nearly midnight! We must get to the Great 'All," Elinor said, and she started to hurry through the kitchen.

Merida hurried to keep up with her. "But - wait, Mum! I canna find-"

"Merida, we must 'urry," Elinor said, and before Merida could get another word in edgewise, they were in the Great Hall.

The Hall was filled with people, the clans all separated in three parts, the lords with each particular clan. Fergus had his own near the front, and amongst the sounds of great bagpipe playing and yelling and shouting and cheering, he turned to his wife and daughter, both slightly breathless, and said, "'Bout time! C'mon!"

"We're in time, then?" Elinor said excitedly, dropping Merida's hand.

"Just in, Elinor," Fergus said, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Do ya want to start us off?"

"Why not?" Elinor said, laughing, as she threw her hands up. She turned along with Fergus to the crowds, and she said in a clear, authoritative voice that caught the people's attention and silenced everyone, "Now, will the lords come up 'ere, please."

Poking and elbowing and shoving each other, the lords did so. Elinor nodded, and said, addressing the crowd once more, "As we do traditional around 'ere, we are going to sing Auld Lang Syne as soon as the clock strikes twelve, which it should" - the queen looked to the guard who was watching the clock, who quickly held up ten fingers, meaning ten seconds - "be in just a few seconds." She let out a shaky laugh, and the guard shouted, "It's midnight!"

His words rang through the Hall, and Elinor started, _"Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?"_

Fergus cleared his throat and joined her in,_ "For auld lang syne, my jo, for auld lang syne."_

The lords cleared their throat and joined in as well. And in a few seconds, the crowd. _"We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne."_

The crowd continued singing, but Fergus's voice stuck out the most as he laughed, squeezing Elinor to him, _"And surely you'll be my pint-stowp! and surely I'll be mine!" _Elinor smiled at him and sang very loudly,_ "And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne."_

As the crowd joined in the second chorus, beginning to link arms (even the lords!), Merida was the only one who stopped singing, for she was very near to the door, and she heard a small yell call for the doors to be opened. She stopped with her clapping and watched as the large doors slowly creaked open, letting snow blow into the Great Hall. The crowd quietly finished the chorus as everyone grew quiet, everyone anxious to see who was coming in first.

Merida spotted him right quick, despite him being the shortest and smallest. Holding a bag and walking one foot awkwardly in front of the other, looking around almost duly, was a snow-blown Wee Dingwall, who scratched the back of his neck when the doors opened.

The effect of his presence was immediate. Fergus let out an excited, "The first!" and then leaned to Elinor, saying, "Were ya expectin' 'im first?"

"Not a'tall," Elinor managed to say above the roar of the crowd.

The Dingwall clan was shouting something awful, all excited about the fact that Wee Dingwall was able to win pretty much anything here at the castle. MacGuffin was face-palming, and Macintosh, his arms folded over his chest, scoffed as Lord Dingwall let out a whoop and a holler, fist pumping, as he looked to the other lords with a delighted look on his face. "My boy, MY BOY, 'ere first! Beat the lot o' ya!"

"My boy was pro'ably 'indered by somethin'," Macintosh said, frowning as he leaned into Dingwall's face.

Merida let out a cheer and clapped, and noticing her mother, joined her as they went up to Dingwall, who looked around, his mouth slightly agape, seemingly unaffected by the applause and excitement around him.

"Wee Dingwall, ya're first!" Elinor said excitedly.

"Oh. I am?" he said, confused.

"Ya kinda are," Merida said.

"Do you 'ave the required items for being the first in the castle?" Elinor asked. Wee Dingwall nodded, and handed her a small bag. As Merida looked over her shoulder into the bag, Elinor started to open it just as Lord Dingwall came flying out of nowhere and bear hugged his son. Elinor stuck her hand into the bag, and handed the items to Merida.

"'As 'e got everythin', Elinor?" Fergus asked, as he came up to them.

Elinor looked pleased as she looked up to him. Pointing to Merida's hands, she said, "Well, there's the coin, the bread, salt, coal and even a bit o' whiskey. That's everythin'."

Merida let out an excited squeal, and she and Elinor shared a smile when the sound of a yelling, drawled, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" filled the room. The royals turned to see Young Macintosh, his hair and face perfect while the rest of him was covered in snow, stomp his foot, drop his sack, and yell something awful.

Elinor and Merida watched him for a moment before they let out a laugh. The Macintosh clan was always the one that overreacted.

As Young Macintosh made his way over to his father, who looked somewhat the same, in walked Young MacGuffin. He had a large fur wrapped around his neck, but his chubby face was still visible. In one of his large fists was the required bag of goods, but holding onto his limbs and sitting on his head, cheering and wrapped in furs, was the three triplets, all looking excited. Young MacGuffin walked stiffly, one triplet holding onto one of his legs.

Once the four of them were in, the doors were closed, and Maudie, Elinor, and Merida rushed to Young MacGuffin, each detaching one of the triplets and holding him in their arms.

"Gracious, 'ow did ya get away?" Elinor laughed, looking at the triplet in her arms.

"Hubert!" Merida said, holding her brother piggyback on her back. Maudie was looking terrified, and was shivering while looking at the triplet in her hands (Hamish), who was bouncing up and down in excitement.

Elinor turned to Young MacGuffin and said, "Thank you for bringin' them back."

"Itwasnoproblemmilday," Young MacGuffin said. He stepped back and nodded, bowing slightly, though his eyes never leaving the queen, who nodded, satisfied.

Fergus came around and wrapped an arm around his wife. "Say, that was a good'un this year. Oh, and what 'appened to them?" He looked from one triplet to the other to the third.

"_Your_ sons sneaked out of the castle and met up with the lords' sons on their way 'ere," Elinor said, raising an eyebrow at Fergus.

"Wait, my sons? Excuse my knowledge, but I bel'eve they're _yer_ sons too!" Fergus said boisterously.

"They get their adventurous and eating side from their father," Elinor said cheerfully.

"Yeah, and their knack for trouble from their mother," Fergus said teasingly.

"Oh, stop it, you," Elinor said, bumping him with her hip.

"Fine, since ya asked, I'll put it off for a bit," Fergus said with a laugh. The king and queen turned back to the clans, and Fergus threw his hands out and said, "Wel-welcome back Wee Ding-Dingwall, eh, Young Mc - Mf - uh-"

"Welcome back Wee Dingwall, Young Macintosh and Young MacGuffin," Elinor said, the triplet in her arms now sitting on her shoulder so that her hands were clasped together. "Thank God you've 'ad a safe journey" - "Aye, aye, yes! Aye!" said Fergus - "and now, it is time to 'ead off to bed, seein' as you all are leavin' tomorrow mornin'. Good night everyone, and 'appy Hogmanay!"

"'Appy 'Ogmanay!" the clans shouted, Merida the loudest of all, and they all began to move about, not too tired, seeing as they had been drinking and there had been dancing during dinner.

The triplets jumped onto Fergus, and with a laugh, he and Elinor bid good night to the lords, and Merida noticed that the three lords' sons were not moving at all. This was it. This was her chance. People were not here. They were dispersing, and it was getting late, and they were going . . .

The princess, without a second thought, bounded through the crowd, tore through into her bedroom, heaped her masterpieces into her hands, and then skedaddled back downstairs, hoping and praying that the three lads were still down there and that she wouldn't be forced to hunt them down that morning before they left.

Luckily, the three of them were still down there amongst the remnants of the crowd. Merida hurried over to them, shouting, "Close your eyes or else!"

"What?" all three of them said.

"C'mon. Ain't that 'ard," Merida said cheerfully, hiding herself quickly in the remaining crowd.

Looking at each other in confusion, MacGuffin shrugged, and the three lads closed their eyes lightly, ready to open them at any time.

Merida grinned and walked up to them, hiding her masterpieces behind her back the best she could, and said excitedly, "Open 'em up, now."

Their eyes opened. Merida presented them with the three bows and quivers full of arrowheads, quite a lot to hold in her arms, but she somehow managed to do it. She grinned at their stunned faces (even Wee Dingwall). "I made them myself," she said, as she handed them each their goods. She stepped back, hands on her hips, and nodded. "A bit crude, could 'ave made that one a bit more tighter" - she pointed to Macintosh's bow - "but there we 'ave it. Whatcha think?"

The lads examined them with big eyes. Macintosh nodded, somewhat impressed looking. Wee Dingwall, mouth slightly agape, looked at his with interested eyes. MacGuffin quickly looked up from his and said, "GoshthisisreallygreatPrinces swonderfulwork."

"I think it's brilliant," Wee Dingwall said, looking to Merida.

The wild-haired princess could only beam at that. "Now, we've all got our own bows. I'll get to teach ya 'ow to fire 'em correctly, if ya like."

The three lads all nodded, their eyes still stuck on their Hogmanay gifts. Merida didn't mind. They were struck, and she thought she did a well and good job of making their Hogmanay holiday.

**The next chapter is going to be the last. ;.; Thank you for reading. God bless you! **


	6. Archery and Goodbyes

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Brave. AHHH FINAL CHAPTER. Thank you for reading, honest to goodness, I love you guys! :) God bless you! **

The next morning was an almost leisurely affair. Breakfast was served in the Great Hall, and everyone was cheerful and ate lazily, the time of setting off to be at eleven, a long time away when ya wake up at seven in the morning. There was big platters of food eaten merrily and big tankards of mead and ale were drained.

After the big meal, while everyone still sat about, Merida took the boys on a horse ride to an old place she and her parents used to hang out. The tent was still up. Even the target was still up. It was the royal family's little valley place, the place where Merida had first seen Mor'du and where her father had lost his leg.

Of course, with Mor'du gone and dead, there was nary much to fear in the woods now. Besides, with her bow and arrows, Merida felt quite safe as she walked up the target, ready to demonstrate proper shooting.

"All right, now remember, ya 'ave to 'ave the proper stance," Merida said. Her left hand held the middle of the wooden bow; her right held back the string, an arrow in place, the feathers connected to the string. The lads, all bundled in furs, were in a line, wearing their quivers and holding their bows. Macintosh looked a bit unimpressed. MacGuffin looked quite interested while Dingwall strummed his string, glancing from it to Merida every few seconds.

Merida, with a toss of her head, threw the hood that was on top of wild hair off, leaving the mass free as she said, "Keep your eyes open" - she was standing so that her hip faced the target, and she shifted her feet - "focus, keep an eye on the target, and-" she let the arrow loose, and it flew through the chilly air and sank into the dirty canvas, right in the center.

The princess smiled, straightening as she turned to see the reactions of the lords' sons. They looked impressed, and Merida stepped back, snow crunching underneath her feet. "Go ahead."

And that was what they did. Macintosh rushed forward, and managed (after ten minutes) to hit the target, making him cheer and look very proud of himself. After five minutes, MacGuffin, concentrating, not saying a word, managed to hit the center of the target more than three times in a row. He looked to Merida, straightening, looking relieved, and Merida nodded, a smile of approval on her face.

Wee Dingwall was able to pick it up quickly enough, and time passed, the four of them shooting at the target simultaneously, until Merida, after shooting one, remembered that the clans were leaving, and turning so that she could see the harbor across the frost covered waves, she saw the that was a great many people on the wooden pier.

"Oh," she said, and turning, she said, "we best be gettin' goin' 'fore y'all get left 'ere."

They all looked to her, arrows in place in their bows, and they looked away. Three last arrows hit the target, and Macintosh, leaning on his new bow, nodded and said, "Lead the way, Princess."

Merida grinned, and she hurried to Angus. Within fifteen minutes, on top of their heavily breathing animals, the four young nobles had passed through the winding paths of the forest and at the harbor, skidded to a stop right by the start of the wooden planks. They dismounted, allowing servants to take the horses to their appropriate spots, and they hurried to the end of the harbor toward the large ships.

The three boys hurried forward, still holding their bows, Wee Dingwall nearly slipping on a patch of ice. Merida took a bit more time, her bow on her shoulder, looking around, almost spinning at a slow pace. She saw Maudie and the large, muscular man from the Dingwall clan holding onto each other, Maudie sobbing, and the princess also saw that at the end of the dock, there was the three lords and their sons. Along with them was her parents, who were both having a hard time restraining her three wee brothers. She let out a laugh as she ran to them. Her father had not been too amused at having to take a boat to get the boys back when the clans left last time.

"It's been lovely 'avin' you," Elinor said, both of her hands firmly on one of the triplets' shoulders.

The three lords were bowing. "And we 'ad a good time," Lord Macintosh said.

"But we 'ad a BETTER time," Lord MacGuffin said quickly, as he straightened.

"'Ey, but my clan 'ad the better time," Lord Dingwall said, pointing a thumb at his chest in protest.

"We're all so civil," Elinor whispered to Fergus.

"Aye! I know, right?" Fergus said cheerfully.

"At least this time there was no brawl," Elinor said, and as soon as she finished, all of the ships' horns blew, calling for everyone to hurry on. Elinor smiled at the lords and said, "We 'ope to see you all this comin' year."

"Let's 'ope so. My son still 'as your daughter's 'and to win," Macintosh said, hands on his hips.

Fergus let out a laugh as the lords, all arguing and pointing at each other, walked up the planks to their ships. Their sons turned to Merida and bowed, and Macintosh said, "They work well," nodding to the bows.

"Thank ya," Merida said. MacGuffin nodded, and so did Wee Dingwall, and the three of them went up their particular boat. The large, muscular man from the clan Dingwall rushed past the royals, stopping only to wave to Maudie, who was sniffling, wearing a small smile, and waving a handkerchief.

"Wut?" Elinor said, looking between the two as the ships set off.

"Probably shouldn't ask," Merida said cheerfully.

"Aye, aye," Elinor said, and she turned, and the six royals all waved to the swiftly moving ships. Members from each clan waved back at them, even the lords and their sons.

"You made those bows, Merida?" Elinor said, looking to her daughter, who was by her side.

"Aye."

"Aye, really, Merida? Those're brilliant!" Fergus said excitedly, draping an arm around his girls, the two triplets under his eye now on his bulky shoulders.

"'Ey, thanks, Dad," Merida said, leaning against him.

"Ya taught the boys 'ow to properly use 'em, then?" Elinor asked.

"Aye, I did," Merida said. She looked serious as she said, "I might make them into archers yet."

"We all know Merida likes that," Fergus said with a laugh.

"Dad!" Merida said, pushing at his arm.

"Wut!" Fergus said, still laughing.

Merida grinned at him and Elinor said, "Oh, you two."

Fergus said, "Oh, Elinor," and leaned down and kissed her cheek. She smiled, and the triplets, after looking properly disgusted, started to wave enthusiastically at the ships. Merida did the same, and she shouted, "'Appy 'Ogmanay!"

The rest of the family joined her in their calls of good cheer, and they all waved to the ships, their dogs leaping around them, waving goodbye to the rest of the clans and waving hello to the new year.

**IT'S OVER. OGH. Thank you for reading! God bless you! Merry Christmas! :)**


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